A court in Makhachkala has awarded independent news outlet Chernovik’s deputy editor-in-chief Magomed Magomedov ₽3,000 ($37) in moral damages for his arrest in January 2024 — 50 times less than the figure he had initially requested: ₽150,000 ($1,800).
According to case materials published by the human rights organisation Memorial, Magomedov was detained on 15 January 2024 during a solo picket in Makhachkala, which he was holding in support of journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiev, who was under investigation for terror charges at the time.
Police officers took Magomedov to the Sovetsky District Police Station and drew up an administrative protocol, citing a violation of rules governing solo pickets. According to the police, another individual with a similar placard was standing near Magomedov, which they interpreted as an unauthorised public assembly.
According to Magomedov, during the picket, he was approached by a man identified as Grigory Olkhovsky. Magomedov claimed that Olkhovsky appeared to be intoxicated, and that he had unfurled a placard with the same message and behaved aggressively towards him.
Magomedov stated that he warned Olkhovsky against violating picketing regulations.
Later that day, the court terminated the administrative case against Magomedov due to the absence of an offence. This decision was then upheld by a higher court.
Magomedov then sued the Interior Ministry in July 2025, seeking ₽150,000 ($1,800) in compensation for moral damages. He claimed to have been unlawfully detained, unjustifiably subjected to administrative proceedings, and denied access to his lawyer.
The proceedings lasted several months, during which Judge Mikhrab Adziev held 10 court hearings.
The court concluded that the claim should be partially satisfied, but awarded him significantly less than what he had initially demanded — ₽3,000.
Chernovik religion editor Gadzhiev was detained in summer 2019. He was later charged with financing terrorism. Alongside him, programmer Kemal Tambiev and the head of the Ansar charitable foundation, Abubakar Rizvanov, were also tried. All three pleaded not guilty.
In September 2023, the court sentenced Gadzhiev to 17 years in prison; Tambiev and Rizvanov received sentences of 17.5 and 18 years respectively.
In November 2024, an appellate court reduced their sentences by two months each.
Until then solo pickets in his support were regularly held in Makhachkala.
Memorial considers Gadzhiev, Tambiev, and Rizvanov to be political prisoners, while Amnesty International has recognised Gadzhiev as a prisoner of conscience. Calls for his release have also been made by Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Luiza Mchedlishvili
